Climate change is responsible for as much as 75 percent of all extreme heat waves felt around the world, according to a new report. These changes to the environment are also driving roughly one in five storms delivering extreme precipitation, researchers concluded.
A United Nations climate report delivered in 2014 concluded there is at least a 95 percent chance that most global warming witnessed in the last 65 years can be traced to human activities. The remainder of the storms and heat waves are likely the result of natural processes.
"Already today 75 percent of the moderate hot extremes and about 18 percent of the moderate precipitation extremes occurring worldwide are attributable to warming," ETH Zurich climatologists, including Erich Fischer and Reto Knutti, wrote in their study.
Moderate extremes were those changes expected to take place once every 1,000 days or roughly every 33 months. These events can result in flash floods, lightning strikes and the resulting blackouts that take the lives of thousands of victims annually.
Researchers compared historical data dating back to the start of the 20th century with satellite data recording modern conditions. Analysis revealed that severe storms and heat waves have become more likely in the last century, suggesting global climate change may be the driving force behind more extreme weather.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, managed by the United Nations, 2014 was the hottest year on record since the 19th century. Extreme precipitation events took place in Brazil, South Africa, Bangladesh and other nations.
This new research determined that temperatures have risen around the globe by an average of 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels. Researchers also determined that rising temperatures could lead to increasing risks of extreme precipitation and heat waves. The study predicts that if global warming tops out at 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels, 96 percent of heat extremes and 40 percent of severe precipitation events would be due to climate change.
World leaders will meet at a United Nations summit in Paris to discuss policies that may be undertaken to reduce the human impact on the global environment. The event, scheduled to take place this year between Nov. 30 and Dec. 11, is aimed at forging a legally-binding pact limiting the release of greenhouse gases.
Human activity is likely driving the majority of the rarest, most severe weather events, according to the Swiss researchers. These are often the most destructive of such periods.
Study of the role global climate change plays in the development of heat waves and extreme weather systems was profiled in the journal Nature Climate Change.
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